Updated November 6, 2026 at 6:57 AM PST
British comedian Russell Brand has gone from a celebrity darling to a convicted rapist, after a jury on Thursday found him guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault. His sentencing is scheduled for Monday.
The judge in the court case said Brand, a one-time MTV host turned recovering heroin addict and new age guru, was facing a "significant custodial term."
Aside from the guilty verdicts, Brand — who denied all charges — was also cleared of two additional counts of rape and one of attempted indecent assault.
The 51-year-old showed little emotion as the verdict was read out in the London courtroom, according to journalists in attendance. British courts don't allow cameras in.
But his wife Laura, with whom he shares three children, was said to be visibly upset. She has stood firmly behind him throughout the trial.
Many hailed the bravery of the six women who brought the charges.
Senior prosecutor David Roberts said the evidence had shown Brand "to be a calculated sexual predator using his growing fame and power to create situations in which he could pursue women sexually regardless of what they wanted."
Andy Furphy of the Metropolitan Police Department said "this verdict is first and foremost a testament to the extraordinary courage, resilience and determination of the women who reported what happened to them."
"I hope this conviction sends a clear message that no one is above the law, no matter how famous or powerful they may be," he added.
The police also announced they were investigating further allegations of rape by two women against Brand.
Controversy, drug addiction and sexual promiscuity
Brand — raised by his mother in Essex, outside London — started off as a comedian, rising to fame around the start of the millennium with standup shows where he riffed on everything from politics to his sex life.
He was known for what at the time was dismissed by many as early noughties shock-jock humor. But his jokes also prompted allegations of misogyny.
He then got into TV, working briefly as an MTV presenter. According to his memoir he was fired after turning up to the studio the day after September 11th dressed as Osama bin Laden and smoking crack in the bathroom.
His early career was derailed by heroin addiction, which he wrote candidly about in the 2007 memoir My Booky Wook, in which he also recounted how he'd gone to a clinic for sex addiction.
After time in rehab, Brand's fame took off.
He did some movie work in Hollywood, with a part as a British rocker in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall and presented the MTV Video Music Awards in LA. He also gained name recognition in the U.S. after marrying the American pop star Katy Perry in 2010, though the union lasted for just over a year before they divorced.
From shock jock to political analyst to conspiracy theorist
Then, Brand underwent a career metamorphosis. He restyled himself as a serious political commentator, appearing on a high profile BBC current affairs show where he advocated for a "socialist egalitarian" political system and expounded on why he didn't believe in voting.
Riding that wave, in 2014 he started a YouTube channel where he interviewed senior names in British politics. He also wrote columns for the left-wing Guardian newspaper.
Later, he started talking about health and wellness, and in 2020 when Covid pandemic hit, Brand expressed scepticism about vaccines on his Youtube channel. He embraced spirituality and Christianity, and in 2024 was baptized in London's River Thames.
When the first allegations about sexual assaults came out in 2023, he posted a denial, saying the "mainstream media" was out to get him. The Times of London, Sunday Times and Channel Four were the first to publish the joint investigation in which four women accused him of sexual assault or rape.
Having once been loved by the British left, he became a darling of the American right, with Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson voicing their support of him. He also appeared at a rally featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in 2024, weeks before the presidential election.
Charges, court case and conviction
In 2025 British prosecutors charged Brand with multiple counts of sexual assault, to which he pled not guilty. The case went to court in October this year, with six women testifying.
Brand says he never had sex without consent.
But this week, a jury found Brand guilty on four counts. He was found guilty of sexual assault for grabbing the breasts of a woman at a bar in London in 2004.
He was also found guilty on the same charge of grabbing the breasts and bottom of a woman at a radio station studio around the same time.
The third sexual assault conviction was for laying his head in the groin area of a woman he had been working with on a TV project in 2009.
He was also convicted on one count of rape. He was found guilty of raping a woman he had met a few days before when he'd been performing a comedy show in 2009. She later came to his home and she said they engaged in consensual sex before he anally raped her despite her asking him to stop.
Brand will find out next week how long his jail term will be.
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